The Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation at Chatham University works to transform the future of food and agriculture in Western Pennsylvania and beyond.
CORE VALUES
The Center for Regional Agriculture, Food, and Transformation actualizes these core values in our work and promotes them within our regional, national, and global food systems.
The role of food in fostering systemic change
Food systems are the central institutions of our communities, because of the central role that food plays in our daily lives - Everybody eats.
A holistic approach to food systems
As we work to transform our food system, we honor the social, political, and cultural significance of food to the people who eat it and recognize the varied approaches necessary to achieve the change we seek. We are mindful of our role as leaders and as followers, as well as the opportunities to dismantle and construct. Put in other words: there are no silver bullets.
Communities are the hub of vibrant food systems
We center community in our pursuit of transformative regional food systems that value the people who live and work within them. Vibrant regions are comprised of vibrant communities.
Resilient food systems are diverse food systems
The strongest and most durable systems are those built upon the collective wisdom derived from a diversity of experience, which is made possible through policies and cultural norms that include, center, and create space for all types of people, business, expertise, and lived experience.
The rich and complex heritage and food traditions of our region, country, and world
We recognize the history and culture of all of our region’s historical and current residents, including the fraught and complex history of land ownership and food production in our region and country and the foundations that were laid by displaced indigenous and enslaved peoples from which we now benefit.